memeorandum: Record-High 40% of Americans Identify as Independents in '11 (Jeffrey M. Jones/Gallup)

10:25 AM ET, January 9, 2012

Top Items:

Romney at Bain: Big Gains, Some Busts — Mitt Romney's political foes are stepping up attacks based on his time running investment firm Bain Capital, tagging him with making a fortune from the rougher side of American capitalism—even as Mr. Romney says his Bain tenure shows he knows how to build businesses.

Discussion: Reuters, Washington Wire, Taegan Goddard's …, The Enterprise Blog, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Campaign 2012 and ABCNEWS

Quinnipiac University:

Romney Has Big GOP Likely Voter Lead In Florida, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Most Voters Say They Might Change Their Mind — With 36 percent of Florida Republican likely primary voters, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has a double-digit lead three weeks before the nation's …

Discussion: The Hill, National Review, The Caucus, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, msnbc.com, Outside the Beltway, The Brody File, Boston Globe and Naked Politics

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Romney holding steady in NH — Mitt Romney continues to be headed for a comfortable win in New Hampshire. PPP's final poll there finds him with 35% to 18% for Ron Paul, 16% for Jon Huntsman, 12% for Newt Gingrich, 11% for Rick Santorum, 3% for Buddy Roemer, and 1% for Rick Perry.

Discussion: Ricochet Conversations Feed, Outside the Beltway, The PJ Tatler, americanthinker.com, FiveThirtyEight, The Politico and Washington Post

New York Times:

Pro-Gingrich PAC Details Ads Against Romney's Bain Role — MANCHESTER, N.H. — Thanks to a $5 million donation from a wealthy casino owner, a group supporting New Gingrich plans to place advertisements in South Carolina this week attacking Mitt Romney as a predatory capitalist who destroyed jobs …

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

The Boffo Awfulness — In the preceding post I referenced this swift-boat-style ‘documentary’ on Mitt Romney and Bain Capital which the Gingrich-backing SuperPAC (Winning Our Future) has bought and will use as the battering ram against Romney in South Carolina. They've put up a trailer for it now which you can see after the jump.

Discussion: Campaign 2012, No More Mister Nice Blog, Balloon Juice and Political Mojo

WMUR:

Poll Shows Battle For 2nd In Primary; Romney Keeps Lead — Huntsman Moves Into Tie With Santorum — MANCHESTER, N.H. — The top spot in the latest WMUR/University of New Hampshire poll still belongs to Mitt Romney, but the race for second and third place is very close.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Ballot Box, GOP 12, ABCNEWS, Washington Post and Swampland

Walter Shapiro / The New Republic:
This Is the Most Boring New Hampshire Primary Ever

Discussion: ABCNEWS

Mike Allenand Jim Vandehei / The Politico:
New Hampshire primary: The land of make-believe

Discussion: New Yorker, Ballot Box, ABCNEWS and CNN

Benjy Sarlin / 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com:
TPM2012 — Carl Paladino Trash-Talks The Entire GOP Field (Except Newt)

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog

Matt Viser / Boston Globe:
Mitt Romney says he knows the fear of a possible pink slip, but does not provide details

Discussion: US Politics

CNN:
STATE OF THE UNION WITH CANDY CROWLEY

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Meghashyam Mali / Ballot Box:
Romney tells voters he knows what it's like to fear getting a ‘pink slip’

Discussion: The Politico

ABCNEWS:
Mitt Romney Says He Feared Getting ‘Fired’

Discussion: Riehl World View and PERRspectives

Kenneth P. Vogel / The Politico: Debate shows super PACs' strength

Buzzfeed Politics / Politics:
Romney's Inexplicable Debate Fibs

Discussion: Washington Monthly, 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com, Weekly Standard, National Review, Firedoglake, The Mahablog, Power Line and BuzzFeed

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Record-High 40% of Americans Identify as Independents in '11 — More Americans identify as Democrats than as Republicans, 31% to 27% — PRINCETON, NJ — The percentage of Americans identifying as political independents increased in 2011, as is common in a non-election year …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Politico, Questions and Observations and National Review

Alex Spillius / Telegraph:

White House ‘covered up’ Tim Burton-staged Alice in Wonderland Halloween party — The White House covered up an Alice in Wonderland-themed Halloween party staged by film director Tim Burton and actor Johnny Depp for fear of creating the wrong impression during a recession, a new book on the Obamas has claimed.

Discussion: Big Journalism, The Gateway Pundit and blogs.telegraph.co.uk

Morgen / Verum Serum:
HalloweenGate: White House Covered Up 2009 Halloween Party Hosted by Johnny Depp & Tim Burton …

Discussion: Fox News, The Politico, Weasel Zippers and Big Journalism

New York Post:
White House threw secret ‘Alice in Wonderland’ bash during recession

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, Big Hollywood, Don Surber, Weasel Zippers, Atlas Shrugs, The Lonely Conservative, Doug Ross and New York Magazine

Carol E. Lee / Washington Wire: New Book Portrays Explosive White House Dynamics

Laurel Ramseyer / Firedoglake:

Republican Sen. Steve Litzow Announces Support for Washington's Marriage Equality Bill — Washington state Senator Steve Litzow (R-Mercer Island) has announced his full support of the marriage equality bill expected to be introduced this week, making him the first Republican in the state Senate to openly support marriage equality.

Discussion: Seattle Times and ThinkProgress

New Jersey Online:
N.J. Legislature to introduce bill legalizing gay marriage

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay and Box Turtle Bulletin

Thomas Erdbrink / Washington Post:

Iran court sentences American to death — TEHRAN — An Iranian court on Monday convicted an American man of working for the CIA and sentenced him to death, state media reported. — Iranian authorities allege that Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine, received special training …

Discussion: News Desk and americanthinker.com

Reuters:
Iran condemns American to die, starts nuclear bunker

Discussion: Hot Air

Kevinliptak / CNN:

TRENDING: Christie takes on protesters chanting at Romney rally — Exeter, New Hampshire (CNN) - New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie fired back at protesters at a rally Sunday for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in New Hampshire. — The brash Republican governor …

Discussion: Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit and The Politico

Katrina Trinko / National Review:
Christie Squares Off with Occupiers at Romney Rally

Discussion: Washington Post, The PJ Tatler, americanthinker.com, Nice Deb and Ed Driscoll

Bill Keller / New York Times:

Just the Ticket — THE beginning of a new year is a time for resolutions, and Hillary Clinton's admirers are already busily, lovingly resolving on her behalf. On one sideline, her friends tell me that after a few years of hyperactive globetrotting what she really needs is to put her feet …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, NewsBusters.org and Prairie Weather

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

America's Unlevel Field — Last month President Obama gave a speech invoking the spirit of Teddy Roosevelt on behalf of progressive ideals — and Republicans were not happy. Mitt Romney, in particular, insisted that where Roosevelt believed that “government should level the playing field …

Discussion: ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Daily Kos and Prairie Weather

David Eldridge / Washington Times:

Ex-Times Editorial Page Editor Tony Blankley dead at 63 — Tony Blankley, a noted conservative author and commentator and former editorial page editor of The Washington Times, died Sunday morning, according to family sources. He was 63 and had been battling stomach cancer.